Campaign 2014 Letter: Removing the stigma of substance abuse

Bill grew up in a hardworking middle class family in Massachusetts. His parents cared for him and enrolled him in private school.

At a friend's house during his freshman year in high school, he and his friends stole Percocet from his friend's parent's medicine cabinet.

Bill grew up in a hardworking middle class family in Massachusetts. His parents cared for him and enrolled him in private school.

At a friend's house during his freshman year in high school, he and his friends stole Percocet from his friend's parent's medicine cabinet.

He was addicted and took painkillers on a daily basis. He then moved on to buying Oxycotin on the street and stealing money from his parents. Within a year of graduating from high school, he was sniffing heroin and entered his first rehab. Over the next several years his addiction worsened; he eventually began injecting heroin and contracted Hepatitis C as a result. He has spent the last few years bouncing from jail to rehabilitation facilities.

Sadly, this story is a composite of thousands of true stories around our commonwealth.

For years, Massachusetts has struggled with the growing problem of substance abuse. Illicit drugs such as heroin and painkillers have brought devastation to our families, communities and individual lives. It is time that we put an end to the spread of substance abuse and it starts by how we treat it.

In Massachusetts, we currently treat substance abuse as a criminal issue. This will stop in my administration. We need to start to treat substance abuse as a public health issue.

Our state leads the nation in healthcare services and research, and yet we have the 6th highest rate in the United States of drug users under the age of 18.

This past week, I proposed creating an Office of Recovery. We need an office that is solely designated to coordinating with local detox and rehabilitation facilities so every person can easily find immediate treatment.

As governor, I will highlight the issue of substance abuse and addiction in our commonwealth. I will work to lessen the stigma of this illness and open our minds to it as a health problem.

We as a commonwealth need to be proactive, not reactive. It is a moral and economic imperative that Massachusetts leads the way on an Office of Recovery. As governor, I will lead our efforts to removing the stigma of substance abuse and together we will stop this epidemic and keep Bill and tens of thousands of our children out of jail, rehab or the morgue.